Venus quits tournament in pain

Venus Williams’ "fans" made her already painful day even worse. The ailing athlete retired from the Australian Open today after a groin injury that she sustained earlier this week left her unable to continue.

As she limped off the court, the crowd booed.

According to The Washington Post, Venus only played a few minutes before she clenched her right side in apparent pain and made the decision to quit, the first time she’s done so in a Grand Slam tournament since her career began.

"A lot of times when you play … you get this adrenaline that blocks pain," Venus said. "But I just didn’t get enough of that today. Obviously, I just couldn’t play. I couldn’t move. It was too painful."

Venus initially hurt herself Wednesday in a match against Sandra Zahlavova. Although her thigh was bandaged today, that was not enough.

The booing crowd was less than sympathetic toward Venus, but her competitors seemed to understand her decision to quit the tournament.

"I think she wanted to give it a try," Andrea Petkovic said. "I just hope she gets better because she’s such a great champion."